By Christy Anyanwu
There was rib-cracking fun, camaraderie and elegance at the premiere of the movie, Monkey Business, held at the Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The movie, which was shot in Enugu, is a mix of humour, suspense and romance, featuring a distinguished cast including Prof. Alex Osifo, Ngozi Ezeonu, Peter Armand Boyo, Grace Obi, J Leo Uche, Patrick Ifeanyi, Obi Okoli, among others.
In his brief remarks, J Leo Uche, the producer, explained the theme of the movie and how it came about: “We came for a business and ended up facing a comical lifestyle. When you wake up in the morning you are seeing monkeys. That happened in Gambia. Monkeys are always on the roof tops, always trying to communicate with us. That was how we conceived the idea of creating comedy into it and while we were planning it, not with any serious enthusiasm, we lost one of my friends.
“What to take home as regards the movie are messages of hope and morals because in Nigeria, a lot of people are facing hard times. So, we try to inculcate comedy into our story to ease the tension a lot of Nigerians are currently passing through in the country. We also brought in some action into the story, especially the martial arts.”
Sherry Tomlinson, executive producer of the movie, described the movie as a platform to employ youths, noting that there will be “additional opportunities to help them develop their skills in martial arts, music and film making,” adding, “In the future, initiatives that help to commercialise filmmaking are being planned, to support their growth and development here in Nigeria.
She said that the movie was used to highlight mental health, environmental issues and diet-related health issues that can be caused by consuming much carbohydrates.
“In all, we tried to make the movie informative and enjoyable.” Tomlinson said.
In the movie, Peter Armand Boyo, played the role of Digital, a safari tour guide who hustled from day-to-day, picking up tourists and charging them in dollars. He noted that it was ironic that the character was a tall fellow operating safari service but had ophidophobia, which is an intense fear of snakes. “In the movie, we see the intense journey of this fear of snakes which was just tapped into and the various ways of treating it are mentioned,” Boyo said.